November 20, 2011

Glory to you, O God.

You are above all things glorious.

Your creation sings of your glory,

And most of it sings much more loudly than us,

Your people.

Show us your great glory

In ways that no one can deny,

And turn our hearts to you.

Amen.

November 19, 2011

What a wonderful gift is life, O God.

It is often not even recognized by us

As a gift,

But as something more like our due.

But, O God, although you desire relationship with us,

We know of no reason that you need us.

Your gifts to us are overwhelming,

And we take time

This day,

This moment,

To truly thank you.

Amen.

November 18, 2011

Lord, help us to make all our times count.

We have no promise of any number of days,

All we know is what we have right now.

And what we have to give right now

To others

Are love and respect,

To you is devotion,

And to ourselves,

Is hope for a life well lived.

Help us to devote ourselves to those things,

And let the future be.

Amen.

November 17, 2011

Why do we turn from your ways?

What could be more important than who you have called us to be?

Who could be more important to please than you, God?

Yet we continue to look inwardly

Toward our own pleasures,

And disregard your commands.

Please forgive us,

O God,

And draw us into a relationship with you

That will fill us with love for you

And an unquenchable desire to serve you in truth.

Amen.

November 16, 2011

We turn to you,

Confessing our inadequacies

And our inabilities

To be the people you have called us to be,

O God.

We care more for ourselves than others,

And we lie to you and ourselves,

Claiming that we do not.

But our actions, time, and treasures

Reflect our own narcissism,

And when we realize it,

We mourn for ourselves.

Please forgive us

And help us to look to the needs of others

In ways that will honor you,

Others,

And ourselves.

Amen.

November 15, 2011

Contemplating your works in creation

Teaches us how awesome you are, O God.

The intricate structures of animals and plant,

The way even unloving things move and change to keep this world alive,

The movement of the planets,

The movements underneath the earth’s crust,

All testify not only to your power,

But your incredible care for what you have created.

Thank you, O God, for this blessing,

And please open our eyes to see more of these blessings from you.

Amen.

November 14, 2011

Looking around at the world,

It is easy to become hopeless

In our humanity.

People hate.

People kill.

People use others for selfish ends.

It is tempting to think of ourselves as

Evil at our core.

Yet, we come from you, O God.

And you are good.

You are the source of all goodness.

Remind us to look to you for who we should be,

So we can be better—never good like you,

But better

To each other,

To ourselves,

And to you.

Amen.